Yeah, gotta say that's not a good example. The Roman Empire still bore the same cultural continuity as the Republic: it was essentially the enshrinement and canonization of Republican Roman culture. It just happened to be a republic ruled by an emperor, which is essentially what the Galactic Empire was. The Star Wars Adventure Journal #7 is very instructive in this regard: for the average Core Worlder (the most populated region of the galaxy), the Empire was pretty much exactly the same as the Old Republic. Life went on as normal, or was even better than before. Similarly, under the Roman Empire, the Senate was (unfortunately) disempowered in favor of emperors, although this was a slow process and the Senate still retained appreciable prestige and influence well into the imperial period. Yet while the ruling class was weakened, life for the average citizen was better: the Roman emperors based their power on two things: the military, and popular opinion. They had to keep both of them happy. You can make philosophical arguments about the difference between liberty and prosperity, and it's a worthy debate, but that doesn't change the fact that these things are the same institutions. The Old Republic became the Empire: both things were still the ancient, lawful government. In contrast, the Sith Empire is an external, invading power. They are attacking worlds and taking them over . . . for some reason. The Roman/Galactic Emperor changed things with the premise that one person was better suited to rule, and this person ended devastating civil wars (in the case of Palpatine, of course, he started the war, but most people don't know that). The Sith Emperor wasn't elected. He isn't simply changing the philosophy of a government he runs. He's attacking and invading, under the principle that some crazy demonic theocracy knows better. Well, I can understand why the Sith follow him. They get a share of the power, and can ride his coattails. What do the rank-and-file "Imperials" get out of it? I can understand the real Imperials, the ones in the movies, serving what they think is the lawful government . . . but why are people turning against their own people to serve in some crazy theocratic ruler's invasion? edit: Also, we know what Cato or Brutus might have said about imperial government because we know what their senatorial successors said, and the Senate tended to be culturally homogenuous and conservative. Thus, a provincial senator like Tacitus can embody republican sentiments about liberty and wise government while at the same time admitting that the republic itself was a broken, unworkable system and that princeps who shared power with the Senate would be the best choice for the future, but the tyrants who didn't were despotic monsters.

I want to see more Core Worlds--I want to see the height of galactic civilization, not just a bunch of backwater worlds. We mostly see the more rugged worlds in SW films, books, and games. The only true Core Worlds in TOR right now are Coruscant, Corellia, and Alderaan. If they are done properly, I'd love to see Rhinnal, Recopia, Anaxes, Shawken, etc. Heck, they could even use Bastila's homeworld of Talravin or Satele's homeworld of Brentaal. The dark side cave came from a Dark Jedi that was killed just a few centuries before the movies. Didn't happen yet. Yoda was apparently on Chu'unthor, so it couldn't have taken place more than 900 years before the movies. Naboo was by far my favorite planet in SWG, but it would have only been colonized by refugees from the Core World Grizmallt for 300ish years by the time of the game so it wouldn't look anything like we saw it in TPM . . . though supposedly the Naboo kept their original styles of dress and architecture and stuff, so it wouldn't be too bad if TOR indulged in its habit of using movie designs this time. The cities would have to be MUCH simpler than in the movies though. I do love Naboo though, and given its prominence in the prequels I'm sure they'll put it in somehow. As long as they do their homework and make it look like a relatively recent settled planet (and who knows, maybe Gungan civilization is more advanced--or at least more widespread--at this stage than it was in the movies?) I'd be happy with that. I also kind of want to see a Gungan Sith Lord.

There is at least one flirt option for the consular by level 10. It's with the fellow by the spaceport who tells you to meet with Minister Imogh (for Senator Kayl) in the Senate.

"Marauder" is "garbage made up [. . . ] outside the movies" you know.

That's exactly why, though it's lazy and lame. In Star Wars, British accents are associated with the wealthy Core Worlds, particularly Coruscant. There's a reason why the Jedi we see in the Prequels, raised in the Temple on Coruscant, all speak with that accent, as do the senators and the like. When the Republic becomes the Empire, the Jedi are killed but everybody else in the prosperous Core pretty much become Imperial citizens--this is why the Imperials in the films sound British. Of course, it's more complicated than that--Corellia and Alderaan are in the Core but have "American" accents (see Han and Leia), but even the Rebel President, Mon Mothma, has the Core Worlds British-style accent. They pulled the same stunt in KOTOR--Revan's troops all sounded British and the Republic troops sounded American. Everyone on Coruscant in TOR sounds American even though that makes no sense. Why did they do this? Well, so that way people would be able to tell the Sith were "evil"--I guess the lightning was a bit too subtle!

For the people living in the Core Worlds--i.e. civilized space--very little changes under Imperial rule. Life goes on as usual as it had under the Old Republic, and people would have little reason to protest the Empire since it mostly (with a few exceptions: Raltirr, Alderaan, etc.) rules with a beneficent face in the Core, being as it is a government by the wealthy and for the wealthy. The Rim worlds, as noted, fare differently and probably have little fondness for the Empire, since their experience with the Empire would probably involve the military or colonial arms. The exact opposite is true in the time period of this game. The Sith barged in from the Rim to invade the Core Worlds--for the Core, the Republic is the society they've known and the Sith are warring on them. They have every reason to hate the Sith.

There's a simple reason: for many, Empire/Imperial refer to the Galactic Empire from the original movies, which is the same state as the Galactic Republic and has nothing at all to do with the Sith Empire in this game except for a lazy design aesthetic. Calling the Sith in this game Imperials simply perpetuates confusion between the two. The Agent class, at any rate, works for the Sith--calling them Sith agents is quite fine. Bounty Hunters, to the extent that they insist on being independent, would have the same issues being called Imperials as they would being called Sith.

tausra: My response: Line 1: Really? Than what of the Pax Romana? Centuries of peace led to what Gibbon dubbed "the happiest state of humanity." Soaring monuments, grand libraries, magnificent public works, rising health and literacy, and a standard of living unseen until the 20th century. What ended it? War. The Dark Ages are called such because the constant warfare plunged society into a state of complete collapse: the great classical cities were deserted for more fortified locations, or depopulated and abandoned in favor of rural estates where the greatly reduced population could be defended by local lords. Seeking war to create progress is not only madness, but a frightening sort of madness. If you're going to quote somebody, try not to quote a poet who praised his emperor for bringing peace and ending a century of war. Line 2: You think acting blindly allows one to learn from mistakes? Someone who acts blindly doesn't really indicate that he has much in the way of the rationality or detachment necessary to learn those things. Caesar, whom you quote, was a pretty cold fish y'know. Line 3: Really? When has a Sith ever opined about knowing himself? They seem to shake their heads at that sort of self-appraisal. They are creatures of instinct. Line 4: Oh, I see. So we don't actually see a Sith that follows the Sith Code, but perhaps somewhere, out there, somebody does. Well, that's nice. How practical is a code that doesn't actually work? You say that some Jedi don't follow their code well either: but then the Jedi don't exactly sit down for that, do they? You've essentially conceded that the Sith Code doesn't actually work. Line 5: How'd that self-actualization business work out for Raskolnikov? Line 6: Jedi are ignorant? I'm not sure what's unclear about "there is no ignorance. . . " Can you find me some Sith who learn from their experiences and practice the Pythian admonition?

He was pretty close to falling. He'd decided to commit treason and circumvent the laws of the Republic by assaulting the Supreme Chancellor and--if necessary--seizing control of the Senate itself. Due process, Windu says? What's that? If Skywalker hadn't stopped Windu, it's likely Windu would have killed Palpatine outright because he simply couldn't be bothered to do things right. That sort of shoddy moral justification is exactly what leads people astray. Palpatine would have won either way. If he were killed by Windu, the Jedi would have simply become the very thing they were trying to fight.

Line 1: Peace causes stagnation? As my consular said very early on, peace is what allows civilizations to flourish. Warfare destroys the infrastructure required to do anything productive. Line 2: Blindly following one's passions without detachment and restraint is childlike. It's a desire for instant gratification and leads one to make mistakes. That is not strength; far from it. Line 3: How does following one's passions lead to self-mastery? It seems you're at cross-purposes here, because flailing about to satisfy wants isn't very controlled at all. Line 4: As noted above, I think this chain of reasoning doesn't stand up to close examination. How does giving in to passion lead to power over one's self? A lot of the Sith we see have very little restraint. Line 5: Yeah, uh, it's Jedi who avoid attachment. That's the point of their Code. Line 6: At this point I'm convinced that you actually decided to perform an "inside job" and discredit the Sith philosophy under the guise of justifying it, and thereby proving that the Jedi way is superior after all. Well done.

Well, my concern would be that I'm going to be upgrading iPhones this weekend. Now, in theory, I can do a full backup--including an "app" backup--and that'll make the new phone have all the data of my old phone. However, what I'm wondering is if the security key app will still work or if that'll mess it up, even if the data were all restored.